June 10: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

June 10, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1920, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The Board of Estimate was requested to increase the estimate for the cost of new P.S. 185, Ridge Boulevard, 86th and 87th sts., from $537,000 to $698,000 so as to meet the bid of James MacArthur Co., which was the lowest. The bids for the construction of the addition to P.S. 39, Rockaway Beach, were rejected as excessive.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1939, the Eagle reported, “Men, women and children in holiday mood filled every vantage point overlooking New York Harbor and along West St. and the West Side Express Highway from the Battery to Central Park today to give Their Majesties, King George and Queen Elizabeth, a typical New York welcome. An estimated 2,000,000 gathered along Shore Road and Brooklyn Heights to witness the triumphal water procession. Thousands of spectators clad in summery finery lined West St. on both sides of the curb, cheering, waving flags and shouting greetings as they waited in gay but orderly fashion for the royal motorcade to pass. They stood behind lines of policemen who stood on either side facing the crowd, backs turned to the roadway. Scotch burrs and broad English accents predominated along the line — many of the city’s Scotch-born having turned out to see the little Scotch commoner who grew up to be the Queen of the world’s most far-flung empire. A distinct feeling of kinship with and affection for the smiling lady, who sits on the throne of England, was evident.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1943, the Eagle reported, “ALBANY — Governor [Thomas] Dewey’s Emergency Food Commission, grappling with the food shortage problem, called today for the conversion of canning factories into establishments for sprouting soy beans for the wholesale production of a fresh vegetable-like substitute for the dwindling meat supply. The commission, urging the state to undertake a broad and greatly expanded program to aid consumers in meeting inevitable changes in eating habits, also announced that a commission-sponsored formula for a highly palatable and more nutritious bread, including soy bean flour and other ingredients along with the usual wheat flour, will be made available to the public in the near future. The commission announced that bread consumption has been falling since the imposition of butter rationing and, warning that more bread must be eaten under the change to a cereal diet, revealed that nutrition specialists on the research staff of the Cornell School of Nutrition are working on a variety of new spreads and that directions for making them also will become available to the public soon.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1946, the Eagle reported, “There is an odor in the area of Tallman Island College Point sewage disposal plant, but residents report it’s not from the plant. Settling the argument between Mayor [William] O’Dwyer and Borough President [John] Cashmore, chief backers of the proposed $15,500,000 Owl’s Head sewage disposal plant, and the Bay Ridge Citizens Committee, which is fighting the proposal, Queens residents declared the odor is mild and infrequent. ‘But it’s not the plant that causes the smell,’ Mrs. Irene Spillett of 115th St. declared. ‘Once in a while,’ Mrs. Spillett, who lives near the waterfront about half a mile from the College Point plant, said, ‘we get a damp, fishy odor from the water’s edge, but it’s the usual dock smell.’ Margery Cedarstrom, head of the lawyers committee of the Bay Ridge group which toured the Tallman Island plant at Mayor O’Dwyer’s invitation Friday, reported that Queens residents in the area were so inconvenienced by the odor issuing from the plant that they often had to keep their windows closed. The mayor and the Board of Estimate, which is expected to act favorably on the sewage plant proposed for Owl’s Head, also toured the plant and found conditions satisfactory.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Eagle reported, “LONDON (U.P.) — The Duke of Edinburgh observed his 31st birthday anniversary today and gun salutes were fired to mark the occasion. A royal 62-gun salute was fired from the Tower of London saluting battery to mark the first time the duke had been so honored. In Hyde Park the king’s troop of the Royal Horse Artillery fired a 41-gun salute. The duke remained at Buckingham Palace with his wife, Queen Elizabeth II.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Apollo 9 Commander James McDivitt, who was born in 1929; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Shirley Owens (the Shirelles), who was born in 1941; former N.Y. Yankees broadcaster Ken Singleton, who was born in 1947; former “Saturday Night Live” star Rich Hall, who was born in 1954; “Riverdale” star Gina Gershon, who was born in 1962; “Big Love” star Jeanne Tripplehorn, who was born in 1963; “Bedazzled” star Elizabeth Hurley, who was born in 1965; “A Walk to Remember” star Shane West, who was born in 1978; Olympic gold medal-winning figure skater Tara Lipinski, who was born in 1982; model and actress Kate Upton, who was born in 1992; and former first daughter Sasha Obama, who was born in 2001.

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WIND OF CHANGE: Hattie McDaniel was born on this day in 1893. A child of former slaves, the Kansas native began her show business career as a singer and was the first African-American woman to sing on the radio. She moved into films in the 1930s and ’40s and was the first African-American to win an Academy Award, for her role as Mammy in the 1939 blockbuster “Gone With the Wind.” She also appeared in “I’m No Angel,” “Alice Adams” and “Show Boat.” She died in 1952.

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A STAR IS BORN: Judy Garland was born 100 years ago today. The actress and singer is best known for her role as Dorothy Gale in the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz” and won a juvenile Oscar for her screen work that year. The Minnesota native also starred in “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “Easter Parade,” “A Star is Born” and many other films. She died in 1969.

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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.

Quotable:

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.”

— actress and singer Judy Garland, who was born on this day in 1922